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Yesterday + today we had the first real winter storm here in Toronto and the roads were slick with ice and snow.
The D with the Hankook winter tires handled herself very well and got me through a couple of hours of driving through the storm.
Several times the ESC kicks in but the traction remain straight and true with no fish tailing even going up/down hilly terrain when I made a detour to try avoid the heavy traffic.

I am pleased with the Hankook W409 and the $2,500+ savings over the BMW winter wheels.

I guess the only concern is ground clearance and I make sure I have a shovel in the trunk just in case!

Recently put on Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 with Rial Salermos from Tirerack, and did a ~1500 mile trip up to Portland - had 2 snow storms, some cold weather, as well as drier warmer conditions on the way back, and the setup really impressed me, snow handling was incredible, dry handling impressive too

I'm a penny pincher and DIY'er. Found a set of e90 OEM Style 159 17x8 used wheels for $395 shipped, added a set of TPMS from tirerack, four new Hankook W300 IceBear 225x45-17 (a discontinued size I believe). These tires also are W-speed rated which is nice for our cars. Cost about a grand.

For some odd reason, we have not had any real accumulation of snow here yet. I haven't switched from my summer setup and took the car out yesterday. That being said, my winter setup (193M's, new car take off's) with brand new Dunlop Winter Sport M3's are for sale. If they aren't sold by this Tue, I will be installing them on my car.

Hi - I was in the same situation so some quick answers. Canadian 335d`s don`t need the TPS monitors - tire deflation is detected by by wheel rotation speed sensors - the rotation speed changes with tire pressure.

I bought from the Tire Rack in the USA and went with Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 225-45-17 mounted on Rial Salerno Alloys with BMW hubcaps - they look great and all in mounted, balanced, taxes duties, incl. delivered to my driveway - just under CAD1900. Ordered Wednesday night - at my house on Monday afternoon - huge difference from teh BMW dealer price.

Tires - I did not go with the run-flats as my general driving only involves a few km per day - get one of the $80 tire sealer-inflators as insurance. The Michelins are excellent in the dry and wet and quieter than the standard Conti All-Season Run-Flats. No real snow yet in Toronto this season as you will know but this tire gets great ratings and was also recommended by Consumer reports. I ran Pilot Alpins on my old `95 325iS and they were great.

Hi Jagshemash
Welcome to Bimmerfest.
Glad you are a fellow D owner from Toronto.

Yes I did consider ordering from TireRack in the US but end up buying local.
I got Hankook Icebear W409 (non RF) with alloys (made in China) complete with installation/balancing and HST for CAD$1,050.00 compared to CAD$3,559.50 quoted by the BMW dealer.

So far these tires got me through a couple of hours of ice + snow in the last snow storm.
But lately there is not much snow to worry about.
These few days will be even warmer as the temps will rise above freezing.
Heck it's almost Spring like!

And they call this the great white North!
We seem to be missing all the snow that the US is getting!

I went without without snow tires last year as we hardly had any snow fall too.
But thought I'd get snow tires on my second year with my D as I did not want to take any more risks since it a RWD.

That was a really good price - where did you buy from? I could not find any decent tires and rims from anywhere local for much less than $2400+HST even at Canadian Tire / active Green & Ross etc. although I did go with fairly high performance winter tires that cost at least $110 more per tire from Canadian Tire than from the Tire Rack but not only that the alloys from the Tire Rack were exceptionally good for about $450 versus around $200-300 each from CT.

That was a really good price - where did you buy from? I could not find any decent tires and rims from anywhere local for much less than $2400+HST even at Canadian Tire / active Green & Ross etc. although I did go with fairly high performance winter tires that cost at least $110 more per tire from Canadian Tire than from the Tire Rack but not only that the alloys from the Tire Rack were exceptionally good for about $450 versus around $200-300 each from CT.

My wife knows the MD of the tire distributor and was able to get them for costs.
I then got the alloys from a store at Kennedy Rd, Scarborough and had the tires mounted and balanced there. All was done in a day as I had to pick up the tires from the distributor in Mississauga.

I'll try and post pictures of my Winter tires + rims when I have the time to take some.

I went to Discount Tire Direct and matched up their Drag wheel (my BMW center cap slipped right into the Drag wheel) and had them mount General Arctic Altimax with TPMS $980 shipped.
The thought of putting General Tires on my car turned my stomach but they received the highest reviews for traction in snow and ice on multiple tire websites. Since I am in the snowbelt, dry road cornering and V or Z speed ratings were a distant second on my priority list. I have been very happy with them this winter and at $115, they are a steal.

Not sure but I was told they fit both 5ers and 3ers and come with 17" or 18"
They costs CAD$550.00 for 4 installed and balanced.
I got the Hankook W409 from another tire distributor for another CAD$500.00

This morning, my driveway was a sheet of ice; my 335d with Dunlop Winter Sport M3 ROFs went down it with no trouble. The car was stable and perfectly controllable--with cautious driving of course--on the icy streets. I give the dedicated snow tires full credit.

This morning, my driveway was a sheet of ice; my 335d with Dunlop Winter Sport M3 ROFs went down it with no trouble. The car was stable and perfectly controllable--with cautious drving of course--on the icy streets. I give the dedicated snow tires full credit.

Guess we don't need X drive with the D just Winter tires.
BTW, how is your 2011 NAV?
Is it the same as on the F10 where you can program the destination with the full address instead of the City/Street/House # separately like on my 2010 NAV?

Oh you should edit your mein auto since you've already got your D and it not "on order".

Guess we don't need X drive with the D just Winter tires.
BTW, how is your 2011 NAV?
Is it the same as on the F10 where you can program the destination with the full address instead of the City/Street/House # separately like on my 2010 NAV?

Oh you should edit your mein auto since you've already got your D and it not "on order".

Cheers

My tires skid a lot when starting off from standstill or turn. I also dont go easy on accelerator till it skids 1-2 times and then I turn on DTC and go easy.

Guess we don't need X drive with the D just Winter tires.
BTW, how is your 2011 NAV?
Is it the same as on the F10 where you can program the destination with the full address instead of the City/Street/House # separately like on my 2010 NAV?

Oh you should edit your mein auto since you've already got your D and it not "on order".

Cheers

I have changed "Mein Auto." Thanks for the tip. As for the NAV, on my 2011 335d, one still has to enter the city/street/and house number. I plan on updating the NAV software on my one-year anniversary and am curious as to what new features will be added. The NAVs are all software driven these days.

My tires skid a lot when starting off from standstill or turn. I also dont go easy on accelerator till it skids 1-2 times and then I turn on DTC and go easy.

Is this skidding because of RWD or loads of torque that 335d got?

Are you using winter/snow tires? Any RWD car with proper winter tires should out-perform a FWD or even AWD car with all-season tires, given equal driver skills. The relative heft and good weight balance of the 335d (although a bit nose heavy) makes X-Drive nothing more then a marketing gimmick in all but the most severe conditions. And even then the limited ground clearance will be more of a factor then lack of AWD traction in most situations.

My tires skid a lot when starting off from standstill or turn. I also dont go easy on accelerator till it skids 1-2 times and then I turn on DTC and go easy.

Is this skidding because of RWD or loads of torque that 335d got?

I always drive according to the road conditions.
If the roads are covered with snow or ice I'll start off from the lights at a slow even pace and the D move off firmly without skidding or sliding as the Winter tires take over and do the job they are made for.
Without Winter tires I expect the car will be fish tailing all over and traction will be poor or non existant if there is ice on the road.

I have changed "Mein Auto." Thanks for the tip. As for the NAV, on my 2011 335d, one still has to enter the city/street/and house number. I plan on updating the NAV software on my one-year anniversary and am curious as to what new features will be added. The NAVs are all software driven these days.

So my CA was wrong in telling me that the 2011 3er's NAV will work the same as the F10.
Looks like the F30's NAV will incorporate the F10's feature.

If the BMW's NAV is purely software driven then why doen't BMW make the following improvements:
1. Have the voice instructions say the names of the streets/hwy.
2. Lets you save pre-program destinations to a "favorites" or "Trips for the Day" folder so you can easily access them. Currently if I add an address to the NAV but do not start guidance immediately, when I decide to go to an address I input earlier it's disappeared and I have to re-enter it again.
3. Display the address/house # of your destination when you've arrived. Currently when I arrive at a new address I have to refer to my notes for the house number which is a PITA.
I'd be happy if the above could be incorporated in a software upgrade.

So my CA was wrong in telling me that the 2011 3er's NAV will work the same as the F10.
Looks like the F30's NAV will incorporate the F10's feature.

If the BMW's NAV is purely software driven then why doen't BMW make the following improvements:
1. Have the voice instructions say the names of the streets/hwy.
2. Lets you save pre-program destinations to a "favorites" or "Trips for the Day" folder so you can easily access them. Currently if I add an address to the NAV but do not start guidance immediately, when I decide to go to an address I input earlier it's disappeared and I have to re-enter it again.
3. Display the address/house # of your destination when you've arrived. Currently when I arrive at a new address I have to refer to my notes for the house number which is a PITA.
I'd be happy if the above could be incorporated in a software upgrade.

Cheers.

I admit, I am not totally conversant with planned NAV system details, mid-model year upgrades or what the new F30 will have in the way of NAV features. Of course the F30 will essentially be a new 2012 model, not the present 2011 model currently in production. I do note that the NAV system on my 2011 335d has a "saved trip" mode that I have never used. But the NAV I have now does not do your number 1, or number 3.